Archive for the 'Jack S Mannequin' Tag Under 'Soundcheck' Category

Launching into his first O.C. solo set in Santa Ana. Photo: Kelly A. Swift, for the Register

"A lot of my history is in this room," Andrew McMahon pointed out from the Observatory stage, referring to the venue's previous incarnation as the Galaxy Theatre. "I'm happy to share it with you."

It was here in Santa Ana where a teenage McMahon and his Dana Point alt-rock band Something Corporate made an early demo CD, Ready ... Break, in 2000.

Now that McMahon's other band Jack's Mannequin has ended, the singer/pianist is performing and recording under his own name. A short jaunt opening for fun. commenced earlier this year; another one with O.A.R. starts in June (no local dates, though). And a feather in his career cap comes next week when the NBC series Smash will feature cast members performing the McMahon-penned "I Heard Your Voice in a Dream." His new EP is slated for release April 30.

Election Day (Nov. 6) is fast approaching, and with it comes the release of Aerosmith's new album, Music from Another Dimension!, the group's first disc of original material since 2001's Just Push Play.

In anticipation of that volume, the Bad Boys from Boston rocked the Hollywood Bowl in early August on the first half of their Global Warming Tour. A month after the record's release, they return to L.A. – once again with Cheap Trick in tow – this time for a second-leg turn at Staples Center on Dec. 3.

Andrew McMahon isn't giving up music, but he is retiring his Jack's Mannequin moniker.

Shortly after the October release of the third JM album, People and Things, the O.C.-spawned singer-songwriter and former star of Something Corporate announced he'd be giving up the brand and carrying on under his own name.

So it should come as no surprise that a little more than a year later, he is staging the final Jack's Mannequin's performance, Nov. 11 at El Rey Theatre in L.A. It also shouldn't surprise anyone who knows McMahon's story of battling back leukemia that proceeds will benefit his Dear Jack Foundation, supporting young cancer patients.

Tickets are $44.50 for general admission, on sale Saturday, Sept. 15, at 10 a.m. Table seating, including four tickets, is available starting at $500.

November 13th, 2011, 4:45 pm by GEORGE A. PAUL, FOR THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

Never underestimate home-turf drawing power – that's what Andrew McMahon learned after Jack's Mannequin wrapped their North American tour at the Fox Theater.

On Saturday, the singer and pianist (and Dana Hills High School grad) told the Pomona crowd he initially wasn't convinced the band could fill the 2,000-capacity venue. But the place nearly sold out – probably a result of being the closest gig in proximity to O.C. all year.

“This really feels like a homecoming,” he said.

Since Jack's Mannequin started in the mid-'00s as an offshoot of Something Corporate, I've seen the group play local stages that were small (the Troubadour), medium (House of Blues) and large (Coachella, Bamboozle). McMahon conveys a sense of genuine warmth, both in his music and connection with fans, every time.

Last month, the third Jack's album, People and Things, debuted at No. 9 on the Billboard 200 chart. Delving into more mature subject matter (family, married life, the struggle to maintain a loving relationship), it frequently recalls his admitted singer-songwriter influences Billy Joel, Paul Simon and Neil Diamond with more of an edge. Frontman McMahon branched out to co-write a few of its songs with others, including Matt Thiessen of Relient K; Brandi Carlile contributes backing vocals to one track.

With the group's third effort, McMahon says he wanted to pull back the curtain on love and dive into something more realistic.

“I think you have these breakup records and you have these albums where people have discovered new love, and they have a certain tone to them,” he explained during a recent interview. “But I wanted this album to be about the stuff in the middle.”

McMahon, married for almost five years, says he was willing to delve into imperfections in his own relationship, in the hopes of sharing, frankly and honestly, certain aspects of wedded life that aren't always so easy.

“The way it frames my relationship may make it seem like it's not as good as it really is,” he says. “But I think to some extent, with all writing, you sort of source the drama in your own life. It may not necessarily be a direct representation of my relationship as a whole, but I think it's a representation of the harder times that I gained some inspiration from during making the album.”

September 21st, 2011, 2:15 am by BEN WENER, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

Dave Grohl and Foo Fighters have helped shine the spotlight back on Bob Mould lately, thanks to their collaborative Wasting Light track "Dear Rosemary," which the band and forebear recently performed on Conan. That's a fine tip of the hat, but a special L.A. event just before Thanksgiving looks to be an even greater nod to one of alternative rock's true pioneers.

That lineup alone is testament to the 50-year-old Mould's enduring influence, regardless how few people (even in indie circles) are fully aware of his work. (His life and times, going back to the earliest years of the hardcore punk scene on through the indie rise and major-label fall of Hüsker Dü and beyond, are recounted in his new memoir See a Little Light: The Trail of Rage and Melody, co-written with edited by alt-rock authority Michael Azerrad. And a bit of trivia: his song "Dog on Fire" is the theme for The Daily Show.)

Tickets for the Disney tribute, which I bet sell out fast, are $29-$49 and go on sale Sunday at 10 a.m.

Missed seeing Mos Def and Talib Kweli revive their Black Star material recently at festivals? No matter -- better opportunities are on the way. The hip-hop duo will first play House of Blues Sunset Strip on Oct. 6, $37.50, then return to headline House of Blues Anaheim on Nov. 3, $32.50. Both shows are on sale now, as is another appearance from Game, Oct. 22, $32.50.

We knew late last week that the Airborne Toxic Event, fronted by Mikel Jollett (left), had lined up its biggest hometown show yet, Oct. 23 at Gibson Amphitheatre. What wasn't immediately apparent is that their set will be the topper on LA Weekly's third annual LA 101 festival, which tends to feature at least two more bands on the main stage.

The event will kick off at 3 p.m. outdoors that Sunday with a coterie of acts plus art exhibits, food kiosks, vendor booths and more. Sets inside the amphitheater begin at 7:15; the complete lineup will be released in the coming weeks. Tickets, $22.50-$39.50, go on sale Aug. 5 at 10 a.m.

Also at Gibson: Marco Antonio Solis, already slated to appear Aug. 27, has added a second show on Aug 26, $40-$165, while pastor and Christian singer Marcos Witt, who we thought was going to play Sept. 26 at the Hollywood Palladium, will perform that night at the Universal CityWalk venue instead, $34.75-$79.75. Both shows go on sale Friday at 1 p.m.

Earlier this week, Canadian singer-songwriter Feist revealed that her fourth proper album, Metals, will surface Oct. 4. Her first stateside tour behind the disc kicks off a month later and arrives locally on Nov. 12, when Leslie and her band play the Wiltern in Los Angeles, with a "special guest" to be named. Tickets, $35, go on sale Friday at 10 a.m.

Also coming to the theater and on sale at that time: Colbie Caillat, who follows up this weekend's pair of sold-out dates at House of Blues Anaheim with a larger gig at the Wiltern on Oct. 14, $27.50-$37.50 ... rising Nashville duo the Civil Wars, who headline Nov. 19, with Milo Greene opening, price unavailable ... and Italian pop-opera trio Il Volo, who perform there Oct. 12, $45-$75.

It's hardly as though Thrice and Jack's Mannequin have been inactive lately -- a year doesn't go by that one or the other (or usually both) are found playing live in their home county. Yet both groups, among the most successful to emerge from O.C. in the past decade, have big plans for fall.

Last month, Thrice announced a Sept. 20 release date for its next album, Major/Minor, the band's seventh work, assuming you count the separately released halves of The Alchemy Index as a complete exploration into new atmospheres. Assisting with this new production is Dave Schiffman, who mixed the artistic breakthrough Beggars (2009), the band's most fully realized music so far, and engineered Vheissu (2005).

"It's definitely the most natural progression from record to record that we've had in a while," explains lead singer Dustin Kensrue (second from right). "We did The Alchemy Index, which was totally different (from Vheissu). Then Beggars was kind of the reaction against that. This kind of makes sense coming out of Beggars, but it's definitely a different record." (You can see videos about the making of the disc on Thrice's official site.)

We already know the guys are slated to help relaunch the renovated Yost Theater in downtown Santa Ana on Aug. 13. But now comes word that they will return to House of Blues Anaheim for two shows later in the year, Nov. 9-10. Tickets go on sale Aug. 1. Prices: $20.50 in advance, $23.50 day of show, $15.30 if purchased in four packs. Balcony stools will go for $32.50 a pop, while pew seats will sell for $47.50.

Meanwhile, Jack's Mannequin, the domain of former Something Corporate singer-songwriter Andrew McMahon (left, at Coachella in April), announced details today about its third album, People and Things, slated for an Oct. 4 release from Sire Records.

Through the years the tour has helped boost the careers of various artists, taking them from tiny satellite stages to stirring mosh pits from the main stage. Rise Against, Avenged Sevenfold and even pop star Katy Perry cut their teeth on some of Warped's smallest platforms, while O.C. bands from No Doubt and Save Ferris to Thrice and Saosin have been welcomed with open arms.

Take a look through some standout Warped Tour moments by clicking here or the photo above.

Warped Tour 2011 starts at 11 a.m. Friday at the Fairplex at Pomona, 1101 W. McKinley Ave. Other stops include: July 2 at Shoreline Amphitheatre in Mountain View, Aug. 9 at Cricket Wireless Amphitheatre in Chula Vista and Aug. 10 at Cal State Dominguez Hills in Carson. Tickets are $43-$45. See livenation.com for more details.

August 28th, 2010, 12:56 pm by GEORGE A. PAUL, FOR THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

“It's good to be back home,” singer Andrew McMahon declared while standing atop his grand piano at the Grove of Anaheim.

During a simultaneously energetic and introspective 90-minute, 20-song set at the venue Friday night (with a replay Saturday at Club Nokia in Los Angeles), Something Corporate displayed why it remains among the more unique and successful bands, with cumulative album sales surpassing 1 million, to emerge from Orange County this past decade.

The Dana Point-area musicians were just out of high school when they crafted a versatile alt-pop sound on their independent disc Ready … Break in 2000 and major-label debut Leaving Through the Window two years later. McMahon's raucous ivories-tickling brought to mind both Ben Folds and Jerry Lee Lewis; Josh Partington's edgy guitar style and the pair's increasingly mature lyrics equaled widespread appeal.

Yet, after an attention-grabbing stint on the Warped Tour, heavy headlining roadwork, another well-received album (North, from 2003), plus modern-rock radio airplay on KROQ and elsewhere, Something Corporate went on hiatus. McMahon, meanwhile, formed Jack's Mannequin in 2005 while also fighting off leukemia with a life-saving bone marrow transplant.

That group has become his main focus, having put out two excellent full-length releases, including The Glass Passenger from 2008. But this past spring, Something Corporate finally played together again at Bamboozle festivals in New Jersey, Chicago and here at Anaheim Stadium, where the band wowed the crowd with its first complete gig since the time apart.